


AC/DC

by gimmefire



Series: AC/DC [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: M/M, Mechanokinesis, Superpowers, Technopathy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-04-07
Updated: 2011-04-07
Packaged: 2017-12-03 16:52:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/700532
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gimmefire/pseuds/gimmefire
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Germany 2009. <i>As a confused frown began to etch itself on David's brow and he looked between Jenson and Jake, he asked the all important question. "Where are we?"</i><br/><i>Jake gave a very slow, very apologetic shrug, following it up with a finger pointed in Jenson's direction. "To be fair, it is mostly his fault."</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Thunderstruck

**Author's Note:**

> This was intended to be my entry for Summer Slash 2009, with the theme of superpowers. It got long, got abandoned and got picked up again a couple of months back! My eventual SS '09 ficlet, [A Glitch in the System](http://archiveofourown.org/works/700580), is a prequel to this. David's superpowers are [technopathy and mechanokinesis](http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Technology_Manipulation). Set during the weekend of the 2009 German Grand Prix. Jake Humphrey is the BBC's F1 presenter. [mackem](http://archiveofourown.org/users/mackem) is my long suffering beta.

David hadn't run like this since training during winter testing over a year ago. Wait, scratch that; his trainer would have called a halt to this, told him to slow down, ease up. He couldn't remember the last time he had run this hard. Everything in him burned.

The road beneath him was slippery, treacherous; the thought of losing his footing at the speed he was running would have been a scary one, had he let it cross his mind. Focussing so intensely on what he was pursuing meant that he barely felt the road beneath his feet. His attention was briefly pulled away when Jenson's voice broke through the steady hiss of gentle rain and the rhythmic smacking of their feet on the wet asphalt.

"David, c'mon, we won't make it, you've gotta—"

The sentence never received an ending, Jenson running just as hard next to him. David gritted his teeth and kept running.

Running hell for leather down a darkened, sloping road after the fast diminishing light of their car.

Too fast.

They weren't going to make it.

"David!" Jenson again, desperate now. David looked to his right and found more than desperation on Jenson's rain-spattered face – there was fear there. Real fear. They weren't going to make it. " _Please—!_ "

Finally David stumbled to a halt, feet slipping then mercifully finding grip. He wiped the rain from his eyes and raised his hands, palms facing towards that light, that car. For a millisecond he thought he caught sight of Jake in there.

_If this doesn't work, he'll be killed._

"Please," David murmured, lungs straining, thoughts sharpening. His focus went to a pinpoint, everything but the car rushing away into darkness. Almost, _almost_...

\---------------------------

_"No, no, it's going again. I think we're gonna have to leave it for a bit, sorry guys."_

David let the microphone drop away from his mouth, Eddie sighing loudly next to him as the red light on top of the camera flickered off. Thunder rumbled warningly overhead, as though the sky sought to respond with intimidation, to bully them into accepting this increasingly hopeless situation. A huge electrical storm was doing its level best to ruin the BBC's coverage of the German Grand Prix weekend, with every link the team filmed affected by a poor signal and sometimes no signal at all.

Jake rubbed the back of his neck. "Hey, if it's any consolation, it's not just us having problems," he murmured, indicating over his shoulder.

Peering down the pitlane behind Jake, David could take comfort in the fact that his co-presenter was right; the presenters from RTL and laSexta seemed to be standing around reading their notes or glaring intermittently at the sky. Niki shot them a wry smirk from under his umbrella and called out, "What can we do with technology these days?"

David smiled in response, gaze sliding back to the myriad of television equipment in front of him. _I could bloody do something,_ he thought.

Minutes ticked by.

The sky stayed dark and heavy, Eddie bitched about how 'utterly ridiculous' the situation was, Jake pined for a sandwich, and the signal was no more forthcoming. The nature of the problem meant waiting around for that sudden moment when everything worked and they could bash out a quick thirty second link or couple of minutes of discussion before the signal would go again. Fortunately they had quite a few bits of VT they could cut to if things got too bad, plus members of the Radio 5 Live team were waiting in the wings to give the viewers someone to listen to. The situation was being handled very well, really.

It didn't make standing out in the pissing rain and miserable cold for a phantom signal any more pleasant, and David's mask of professionalism was threatening to slip.

Promptly, their producer's voice cut through the silence from his earpiece.

_"Okay, standby, signal's coming back – try and pickup where you left off. Cue Jake."_

David straightened up, adjusted his grip on his umbrella, raised the microphone again and looked balefully into the camera. He'd rather be having a cuppa with some of the Red Bull boys now...

Jake had barely gotten five words into that day's umpteenth apology for the poor picture quality when, in their earpieces: _"We've lost audio, video's going again, sorry guys, standby."_

That mask did, indeed, slip.

"Ah, _fuck me_!"

The exclamation rang out from David's mouth before he considered the fact that the video signal was probably still relatively clear, and there was a rather pregnant pause before their producer's voice came again, sounding surprised. _"Everything's crystal clear, cue Jake!"_

"W-well," Jake began, momentarily glancing at his co-presenters. "Uh, once again we apologise if you're having trouble seeing or hearing us – and for anything else we might need to apologise for – we think we've got it sorted now..."

As Jake spoke, David afforded himself a look down the pitlane, and as he expected, the presenting teams from RTL and laSexta were successfully continuing with their respective shows. His mostly professional self firmly back to the fore, the Scot wondered only briefly if five million people had just seen – if not heard – him swear before putting it to the back of his mind and participating in the discussion. As that familiar, curious cold sensation spread through his torso, he hoped in vain that the headache that he knew was coming would be a gentle one.

 

Sure enough, after the race David found himself sat under a clearing sky outside the Red Bull Energy Station, head absolutely throbbing. He'd managed to find a seated position, head tilted to rest against the back of his chair, spine slightly arched and with a forefinger and thumb rubbing just above his eyebrows, where the pain seemed to lessen. If people didn't keep fucking walking past him in such a loud manner, he might be less irritable about it.

That was the first time he'd lost control like that in a good while, and now he was paying for it. Sure, they'd had a disruption-free remainder of the day, as had most of the other television crews, but he selfishly had to wonder if it had been worth this horrific headache. Then there was the significant embarrassment of Jake seeing him apologise to the bloody camera unit when he'd thought there was no-one around; he'd muttered something about superstition and made his escape.

"Fuck," he hissed through his teeth, tipping his head back a bit further to little effect.

"You alright?"

Cracking open an eye, David found the subject of his thoughts stood before him, looking concerned. He smiled and lifted his head. "Been better, Jake. Nothing big, though."

The younger man came closer, the concern still clear in his eyes as he looked David over. "I thought you looked a bit peaky towards the end of the afternoon, I was starting to worry. D'you want some water?"

 _Nice boy_ , David thought, holding up a hand. "No, it's fine – I just wanted to ask a favour. I've got a banging head and I wouldn't trust myself to drive like this, so could you give us a lift back to the hotel later? No rush."

"Yeah, no worries," Jake replied, giving a sympathetic lop-sided smile. He slipped a hand into his pocket and pulled out the rental car keys. "The production meeting's in a bit – I'll tell them you're not well – but you know they can run on. After that, though, we'll be set. Have the keys."

David pulled himself up, doing his level best not to groan like some old pensioner as he felt the blood pound through his head in protest. "Aye, thanks," he murmured. "I might get my head down for a bit in here."

Jake smiled again and seemed about to continue on his way when he hesitated mid-turn, running a hand through his hair before turning back to face his co-presenter. He pulled a thumb over his shoulder and spoke in rather tentative tones. "Listen, do you want...I can nip over to the medical centre if you like, pick you up some pills or something? O-or just see what they say, if there's anything you can do to ease it."

Amusement pulled at David's lips; he managed to stifle the threatening grin into a smirk. "Well, thanks for your concern, sweetheart, I could go in for one of those shoulder massages of yours later." he drawled, and almost outright laughed at Jake's mild but palpable embarrassment. Adorable wasn't a word he usually reserved for other men, but there was something about the lanky git in front of him that softened him. Like a gigantic puppy. "Seriously though, I'm alright. I'm not old and infirm enough to not manage walking; I'm gonna head over there myself, see if they can do anything for me. Give me a shout when you're ready to go, yeah? Left my phone at the hotel, so I'll either be here or in your car." He paused, eyeing Jake. " _Waiting for you._ "

Jake stared at him for several long moments, eyes plainly searching for any hint that he was taking the piss. Eventually Jake gave a slightly nervous laugh, a faint blush touching his cheeks. "I never bloody know when you're joking."

David laughed despite his thumping head. "If I can't haze the new boy, who can I haze?"

"I'm going to assume that 'haze' isn't also a secret Scottish euphemism for something filthy."

"It is if you want it to be, babe."

Squirming a little, Jake finally threw up his hands. "Augh, that's it, that's the end of this conversation!" He reached out to give David's shoulder a squeeze and took his leave. "Take it easy, yeah?"

David nodded gently in assent, his smirk softening into a smile as Jake departed. "Nice boy," he murmured to himself.

 

The sun had long since retreated behind the German hills before David encountered Jake again. The Scot had indeed dosed himself up at the medical centre and rested up in the Energy Centre – rather ironic, that – before impatience had him sat in the passenger seat of Jake's rented car. The combination of pills and a long day soon had him sound asleep.

He was eventually stirred by the sound of the car door opening. Blearily opening his eyes, he let his head roll to the side to focus on Jake sheepishly trying to get into the car as quietly as possible.

"Sorry," he murmured immediately on meeting David's eyes. "I'm a taxi service tonight – someone else caught me and asked for a lift back. They...took a while."

Any questions David might've had were snuffed out of existence when the passenger door behind him opened, slammed shut, and two hands seized him roughly by the shoulders, almost making him jump out of his skin. "Heyyyyy, Crazy Dave!" Jenson exclaimed.

"Jesus Christ, you trying to give me a fucking heart attack?!" David responded, twisting in his seat to glare at his friend while his nerves clambered down from the ceiling like a terrified cat. Jenson smiled dopily.

"You're old enough to have them all on your own," he fired back, with enough of a slur in his words to make it clear that sometime tonight he'd been severely waylaid by alcohol. "Were you _really_ kipping in the car just then?"

David ignored the question and turned back around, scrubbing a hand over his face and sighing. Jake buckled himself in and eyed him. "How's your head?"

"Better, thanks," David replied with a weary smile. Pills and sleep had indeed soothed him. Then, a bit louder, "Nice that someone's showing some concern."

"Wassup with you, then?" Jenson mumbled, fumbling with his own seatbelt. He looked up at them and squinted. "You got a headache?" A corner of his lips curled up into a wicked smirk. "D'you want some executive relief, or has Jakey boy already taken care of that?"

Despite himself, David snorted a laugh, his amusement once again heightened by Jake's blushes. He scowled at Jenson through the wing mirror, not bothering to disguise the heat in his eyes. "Jakey boy's been waiting for your sorry arse all night, so no. If you can keep quiet long enough now so that I can finish my kip, I might take you up on that offer." Jenson only grinned again in response, and Jake muttered something about all the flirting still being 'a bit weird for him'.

David shifted to make himself more comfortable, and no sooner had he asked Jake if he was alright remembering the route back that he was drifting back off to sleep.

 

"David? David?...How deep a sleeper is he? D'you think I should shake him?"

Jake's vaguely worried sounding tones filtered through into David's consciousness, pushing aside the hefty curtains of a surprisingly deep sleep. In fact, it felt like he'd been sleeping for ages. He cleared his throat and responded shortly without opening his eyes. "We there?"

There was a pregnant pause. David imagined that there were glances being exchanged. Jake finally piped up again, sounding decidedly guilty. "There's been a bit of a problem."

The remaining traces of sleep deserted David rather quickly. When his groggy eyes could focus on his co-presenter in the seat beside him, he immediately became aware that it was very, very dark outside. Not a single streetlight anywhere around them, let alone the cozy, comforting glow of a hotel lobby entrance; the only illumination was coming from the car's interior lights. As a confused frown began to etch itself on David's brow and he looked between Jenson and Jake, he asked the all important question. "Where are we?"

Jake gave a very slow, very apologetic shrug, following it up with a finger pointed in Jenson's direction. "To be fair, it is mostly his fault."

The explanation given was that, around ten minutes into the journey, Jenson had piped up and insisted that there was a quicker route back than the one they were taking. Obviously not knowing the area so well, and believing that Jenson would have learned the quickest route after years of travel here, Jake went along with the other man's plan of turning back and taking a left. The result was half an hour of travel on narrow, winding, unlit roads through endless looming trees amid repeated assurances that they were going the right way. This journey only ended when the car sputtered to a halt and refused to start again.

David was incredibly grateful that his headache had finally left him, but he did have to wonder how soon the next one would arrive. He stifled a sigh. "You've called someone and got a breakdown service on the way, yeah?"

"Not got my phone," Jenson responded, slumped down in the back seat, apparently having sobered up a little. "S'in my bag, which is with Mikey. Wasn't really planning on drinking. Not that much."

When he got nothing more than a hopeless shake of the head from Jake, David didn't hide his exasperation. "So we're just going to sit here? 'Til another car," he looked out of the front then rear windscreens into the unnerving darkness. "Or _the dawn_ arrives, whichever happens sooner? What the hell did you listen to him for?"

"I said, it's not as if I'm familiar with this area and he really was convinced that his way was quicker."

"It's fine, guys, carry on talking like I'm not here," Jenson spoke up.

"We may as well, what other useful input are you gonna have, eh?" David rounded on him, earning a glare. "What did you stick your two cents in for anyway, why couldn't you just leave Jake to it?"

"Well," Jake interjected in an attempt to restore calm, "To be honest I was just gonna leave you alone to sleep and we'd wait it out, but Jenson said that you'd be able to get the car going."

David felt himself go cold at Jake's words. Eyes moving to fix on Jenson, he murmured, "Oh, aye?" The silence that followed was thick and uncomfortable. "Did you happen to say anything else?"

Jenson, with a look on his face that said 'that was a fucking stupid question', returned that level gaze. "No," he said firmly, the tone of his voice saying much the same as his expression. David eyed him, biting down on any further angry words that threatened to spill forth. Breaking the uneasy silence and needing to be out of Jenson's breathing space, David unbuckled his safety belt, pulled a torch from the glove compartment and got out of the car. He slammed the door so hard that it made Jake flinch.

Anger simmered away inside him as he tapped impatiently on the bonnet before Jake popped it. Of course he could get the poxy car going, or at least have a damn good go; what he was doing, this opening the bonnet and peering at the engine by torchlight business, was for show, partly to appease Jake and partly to allow himself time to cool down. He had no intention of actually repairing the car. After giving the engine a cursory once over, he reached out and patted it, sighing. "Decided to conk out before they got us even more lost, eh? Not a bad idea."

David heard one of the car's doors open and close, and he straightened up. Jenson approached him, torchlight throwing shadows across an annoyed looking face. "What was that all about?"

"I could ask you the same fucking question!" David hissed, that anger rushing right back to the surface now Jake was less likely to hear. "What did you say to Jake while I was asleep?"

Jenson shrugged, annoyance now sliding into exasperation. "Just that you'd be able to sort the car out, that's all! Am I wrong?"

David shook his head. "Aside from the fact that it's a _lot_ more difficult than you seem to be able to grasp, don't you think that it'd look a wee bit suspicious if I've come round here with nothing but a bloody torch and suddenly the car's purring away like a kitten?"

"I understand that it's difficult. I understand just as well that you've got issues with what you can do..." Jenson responded, looking down at the car as though he'd had enough of this conversation, which only served to irritate David more. He scowled.

"Oh right, do you want to be a bit more patronising—"

"Have you even tried?" Jenson interrupted and gestured to the stricken engine.

"No," David said resolutely, unhooking the bonnet and closing it. "And I'm not going to. We're not having this argument again."

Jenson's eyes went wide. "Wh—so we're really just going to sit here?!"

"Apparently so." David clicked off the torch, plunging them into darkness. As he passed Jenson, heading back to his seat in the car, he hooked a firm hand around the younger man's arm and leaned close, ensuring that he also held Jenson's gaze. "Don't you _ever_ offer me up like that again, alright?"

"David..."

The Scot was unable to see Jenson's face clearly, but he sounded genuinely hurt.

It was far from their first argument they'd had over this. Over David's ability. God, he even hated referring to it as that, let alone superpower - it just sounded fucking ridiculous. It wasn't as if he could fly or bend steel or set things on fire just by thinking about it. He...well, he made things work. Electronic things, computerised things. Made a phone work without a battery. Found out the impending weather at a track by 'having a word' with a weather satellite.

Got a crystal clear signal for yourself and two other broadcasting companies by getting really annoyed.

More recently this had extended to mechanical things, though he was still far more inexperienced with that facet of his ability, and this is where he and Jenson usually fell out. While David was keen to be cautious, Jenson was keen to be frivolous, it seemed; keen to experiment with and use a power that wasn't his. _Because it won't be him getting found out, shackled and caged_ , David had bitterly told himself on more than one occasion. His ability continued to be an unwise topic of conversation between them.

After a few moments, David let go of Jenson's arm and left him there, getting into the car and shutting the door with less force than last time.

"No luck, then?" Jake said eventually, cheeriness forced into his tone. The words pulled David back from becoming mired in irritable thoughts, and he turned his head. The false look of hope on Jake's face was actually a little affecting; while the young man might not have heard the details of that argument, it would've been nigh on impossible for him to remain completely oblivious to it.

David's expression softened. "No, 'fraid not." He paused. "Sorry."

Jake snuffed a laugh. "To be honest, I didn't really expect you to actually fix it, it's not even turning over—"

"No, I mean," David interrupted. "I mean earlier, I shouldn't have kicked off like that. I'm sorry."

"Oh," Jake responded, then for some reason went all bashful, looking away. "Well, you know...I don't blame you, I probably should've woken you up earlier, or something, y'know. It's no big deal. We'll just have to hang around for a bit." He looked out into the darkness. "More than a bit, maybe."

David eyed him for a moment, seeing not particularly well hidden worry and stress. He nudged him, offering a smile. "Least I've got good company."

Jake looked at him, something akin to relief touching the smile he returned. "Yeah," he said softly.

The moment – if there had indeed been a 'moment', David wasn't sure, however loaded with hidden meaning that one word response had sounded – was spirited away as one of the rear passenger doors opened and Jenson slid back into the car. He exchanged a sullen look with David through the wing mirror and Jake shifted awkwardly in his seat, gaze swinging back to the empty road in front of them.

Minutes crawled by.

The thick cloud cover that had glowered over the area for the whole weekend was mercifully beginning to break up, moonlight spilling across trees and asphalt and helping David feel a lot less disorientated. The road sloped quite steeply, stretching out and dropping down, a silvery ribbon plunging between the trees and turning sharply to the right, disappearing out of sight around a bend and deeper into darkness. Beyond that, there were shades of grey across a carpet of trees, starlight prickling through clouds and a fat, white moon looming above.

The seats behind him creaked as Jenson leaned forward, arms resting on the front seats. "Quite romantic, really," he mused absently. David rolled his eyes a little, still irked from their earlier row. There was another creak, the low hiss of fabric against fabric and he felt a thumb brush up and down the side of his neck. Rocking his head to the side, Jenson offered him a slightly sheepish smile. David took it as an apology and smiled back, albeit thinly, leaning slightly into the touch. Perhaps this wouldn't be so bad, it probably wasn't that long until dawn...

"You're _sure_?" Jenson murmured, giving him a look. The smile vanished from David's face.

"Fuck off, Jenson," he snapped, pointedly leaning away from Jenson's hand.

Jenson sank back in the seat with an indecipherable mutter and a stony silence descended. Jake fidgeted and looked over his shoulder.

"It still won't even turn over, I don't think David could do anything," he murmured, almost as if he was trying not to let David hear.

"Yeah, I guess not," Jenson replied, a world of words going unsaid. David heard him exhale loudly through his nose. "Gonna go for a wander," he muttered, and the car door slammed shut behind him before Jake could protest.

After watching Jenson disappear into the trees directly beside the car, Jake twisted his head back around to look at David. "Is that a good idea?," he asked, looking genuinely worried. "Shouldn't we go after him, just in case?"

"Fuck him if he wants to throw a tantrum," David said without looking around, as dismissive as he was irritable. "I'm not his mum."

"No, but you're his mate. You're a bit more than a mate, really."

David hummed in grudging assent. "However much of a pain in the arse he is."

Jake glanced out of the window again. "They don't have wolves in Germany, do they?" He sounded like he was half-joking.

"We don't come as a pair, by the way," David said, suddenly enough to surprise even himself. When Jake looked at him quizzically, he elaborated. "We're not together. Not really. It's casual." A slight frown crossed his face. "I'm sure there was a point to me telling you that."

"Well," Jake began, shifting in his seat to angle his body more towards the other man. "Maybe it just means that you feel like you can tell me personal stuff." His voice grew a little quieter. "And that's nice."

 _Personal stuff_. The words scratched insidiously at the back of David's mind, distracting him from Jake's endearing expression. "Yeah. Maybe that's what it is." His gaze slid away and he took a deep breath. "I'll go see where he is, shall I?"

Jake smiled wryly. "If you're gonna be hanging around in the dark with one of us, it probably should be him, eh?"

"Was that you flirting with me?"

"Am I not allowed?" The faux-innocence in Jake's tone and the coy smirk on his lips reminded David of the younger man's earlier words, _I never bloody know when you're joking..._

In any case, David could find no witty reply, so he settled for a slightly incredulous chuckle and a long, lingering look over Jake's body before he opened the car door and slid out.

As he closed the door behind him, however, he felt a tiring weight press down on his shoulders. He wasn't sure if it was the whole _personal stuff_ thing, the poor atmosphere with Jenson or the too quiet darkness they were still sat in, but it was solid and uncomfortable. Add to that the reappearance of cloud cover and a few spots of rain and this night was just getting better and better. He scrubbed a hand over his face and headed for the woods.

 

_To be continued._


	2. If You Want Blood (You've Got It)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _The rain hadn't eased, the car wouldn't slow. The trees loomed in the distance. "David, please—!" The fear on Jenson's face..._

Eventually – after noisily tripping over tree roots and picking his way between clumps of bramble, cursing under his breath at everything – David found Jenson at the edge of a small clearing, facing a tree and looking down. Bemused, he began to approach him.  
  
"D'you have to stare at me while I'm pissing?"  
  
David slowed to a stop. "D'you have to flounce off in a huff when you don't get your way?"  
  
"Funny," Jenson replied, not sounding particularly amused. He zipped himself up and turned to face the other man.  
  
"You know, we're gonna be stuck here in the dark together for a while yet," David sighed wearily. "Can we not row the whole time?"  
  
"Not exactly alone though, are we?" Jenson responded, shooting a sideways glance in the direction of the car, which sounded like it was making a vain attempt at starting. Jake really wasn't prepared to sit back and do nothing, it seemed.  
  
"Have you got a problem with Jake?" David had to admit that it was somewhat of a relief to be talking about something other than his powers. Not that this topic of conversation was a great deal easier, and not that he'd have chosen to do it standing out in the rain again...  
  
"No. I might have a bit of a problem with how he acts when he's around you." At David's confused look, Jenson snorted. "Oh, it is _blindingly_ obvious that he's got a crush on you."  
  
"Is it, now?" David responded tersely, ignoring the fact that it sort of was. "Are you worried I'll act on it?," he asked, ignoring the fact that he'd been very tempted to do just that.  
  
Jenson went to David, hooking an arm around his waist and insistently tugging him closer. Once he was pressed close to his side and he'd slipped a hand into the back pocket of David's trousers, he seemed satisfied enough to reply. "I'm worried _he_ might," he said a bit too casually, focussing on some unimportant spot on David's shirt. David felt a smile spread across his face.  
  
"Might be a bit jealous then, eh?"  
  
"Might be." Jenson lifted his gaze and, at the amusement in David's eyes, he pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of the older man's mouth. David turned his head for a proper kiss before Jenson pulled away and commented, "With a jawline like that, you could have any TV presenter in the world, even one on the BBC."  
  
"Jake's inexperienced, he probably hasn't got your bedroom stamina," David opined, to which Jenson let out a filthy chuckle. David tilted his head and remarked airily, "Or we could just have a threesome, like the old days."  
  
Jenson smiled widely, perhaps at the refreshed memory of those old days, until he resembled a scruffy Cheshire cat. "Can we get out of the rain now?" Without waiting for a response, he headed for shelter beneath one of the larger trees in the vicinity, dragging David with him. It seemed sufficiently dry under the thick, lush greenery, so David saw no need to protest when Jenson pulled him close again in wordless invitation. The hiss of rain became steady without him noticing, caught up as he soon was in warm skin and the taste and rhythm of a kiss so familiar that he could barely remember a time in his life when he was without it. Jenson hummed against his mouth and the sound was of such lazy pleasure that it was almost as though they weren't out in the middle of nowhere in the Eifel forests.  
  
Reality chose to interject as that point, and David came very close to biting Jenson's tongue when a large raindrop fell from the branches above and landed squarely on his head. After the initial squawks of surprise, mutual noises of displeasure could be heard amidst the chuckling.  
  
Jenson's smile faded away. "You're really rather stay out in this all night than go back to the hotel?"  
  
David felt a vague sinking feeling in his chest. He pushed a hand through his damp hair. "It's not a case of 'rather'," he sighed, peeling himself away from Jenson. "The car…I'll try and explain the issue in different terms – it's like me telling you to go out on a, a MotoGP bike onto an unfamiliar circuit and expecting you to get pole position. I mean, you're tremendously talented and everything, but it's unrealistic to think you could do that, isn't it?  
  
"So with me, the end result might be the same – normally I'd take a broken piece of technology and make it work, whereas here I'd take a broken down car and make it run again – but the execution of those two things are just worlds apart, dissimilar in pretty much every way." His shoulders sank a little, unable to keep the frustration and faint hurt out of his voice. "Jense, you're still the only person I've told about this, I would've hoped by now that you'd at least try to understand what I can do."  
  
"That's it, though, isn't it?" Jenson countered. "You didn't tell me. I found out."  
  
Seeing this as simple pedantry, David felt a little exasperated. "Okay then, you found out, but—"  
  
"Just let me say my piece, yeah?" Jenson interrupted. "You can go on all you like about it not being like flicking a switch, about it being more difficult than I can comprehend, and yeah, you're probably right. I don't think you're bullshitting me about that, not now." He paused, eyeing David carefully. "It's about trust, isn't it? If you could've at all helped it, I would never have known. We wouldn't be stood here having this conversation right now."  
  
David felt his stomach clench. "That's not true," he replied unconvincingly.  
  
Jenson gave a small, wry smile, pushing himself away from the tree. " _Now_ you're bullshitting me. I think I'm understanding why you're so reluctant to do anything. It's mainly because you don't want Jake to find out, do you?" His smile faded and his voice went rather quiet as he eyed David. "I mean, if you didn't trust me enough to tell me, why would you trust him?"  
  
Unable to decide which point to address first and rather reeling from all of this, David made a few flustered vowel sounds before Jenson shook his head and began to walk away, back towards the road. "I hope I'm right, mate."  
  
"Jenson," David eventually managed to call out, following him and catching his shoulder. The disillusioned, resigned look on Jenson's face stopped any further words of argument from forming. The hand at Jenson's shoulder slid down to grasp his hand. "Maybe it is a trust thing. But I do trust you, I do. I would've told you." What he said carried a degree of honesty; he believed what he was saying, that at some point he would have told Jenson about his ability, but there was also a distinct hope that Jenson wouldn't ask 'when', even though he could see that very question in his eyes.  
  
Much to David's relief, attention was suddenly turned to a faint sound filtering through the rain. The two of them seemed to notice it at once, their heads turning towards the road. "Is that something coming?" The glow of headlights came as Jenson's reply, and in the rush of relief and disagreements temporarily forgotten they ran for the car.  
  
"I hope Jake's bloody paying attention," David laughed. The approaching vehicle, beginning to ascend the far side of the hill, did not appear to be slowing down. When the trees began to thin out, they waved their arms to flag the car down. David heard Jenson shout, and the smile abruptly faded from his face. The sudden squeal of brakes rent through the quiet night, followed by the violent crunch of metal and glass as the car clipped the right rear corner of theirs and spun in a shuddering quarter turn across the breadth of the road, the impact enough to jolt their stricken car forward.  
  
David scrambled through the remaining undergrowth onto the road, affording a brief glance at their car – brief because Jake didn't appear to be inside, both a relief and an annoyance at that fleeting moment – before running to the other. The driver seemed dazed but unhurt as he opened their door. David heard him say _Ich habe nicht_ somethingorother, his German was pretty horrendous...  
  
"Are you okay? Are you hurt or—"  
  
" _David—!_ "  
  
Jenson's cry tore his attention away from the driver to the sight of their car rolling down the hill with Jenson running alongside, reaching out for the driver's side doorhandle. He grasped for it, missed and slapped his hand against the window as the car gained speed. David felt a leaden weight drop in his stomach when Jenson shouted Jake's name.  
  
Moments passed in a blur of one until David found himself sprinting down the hill behind Jenson. "He's in the back!," he heard Jenson exclaim, and if David hadn't needed all his breath for running he might've questioned him. What the hell would Jake be doing in the back? Grunting with the effort, David managed to pull alongside Jenson, but the gap to the out-of-control car only increased. He gritted his teeth and ran faster and harder than he had in a long time.  
  
" David, c'mon, we won't make it, you've gotta—"  
  
The rain hadn't eased, the car wouldn't slow. The trees loomed in the distance.  
  
" _David, please—!_ " The fear on Jenson's face.  
  
At last, he slowed, almost stumbling head over heels, and skidded to a stop.  
  
 _If this doesn't work, he'll be killed._  
  
He pushed the thought away and tried to steady his breathing enough to hold his hands relatively still. The last conscious thought he had came in the form of a momentary prayer to whoever might be listening as everything but the car plunged into nothingness. Hands outstretched, blood pounding through his veins, his focus sharpened to a pinpoint and the car peeled apart in his mind's eye. Bits of his thoughts tumbled through, rushing into the spaces, exploring, hunting, feeling the spread of oil, coolant, petrol, feeling pistons, valves, steering, cylinders, brake lines, discs, pads, _brakes_ —  
  
The spectre of the car's inner workings flashed through his head as clear as day and his thoughts seized, binding to that image, and the car came into focus. He clenched his right hand into a fist; the brake lights flashed on, off, on again, he clenched his fist harder, the brakes gave an unearthly, pained squeal and the back end of the car stepped out. Left hand, fingers curling, like he could feel the entire weight of the car on his back, pushing through his chest, he couldn't breathe, he wrenched the steering, the car spun, the rear wheels screeched, _stop stop stop st—_  
  
David's stomach lurched and a moment later he heard the crunch of impact.  
  
When everything else began to fade back in and he became aware of his own ragged breathing, he let his then aching arms drop and set off running again, unsteady and disorientated. He saw Jenson, almost there by then. The car was still. He couldn't see Jake. Maybe he wasn't in there after all...  
  
By the time he reached the bend in the road, Jenson had one of the rear doors open and was leaning inside. When David stumbled to a halt, Jenson looked around and his face broke into a broad, relieved grin. Hands resting on his knees while his legs trembled, David ducked his head to see Jake sat upright in the backseat, limbs sprawled, looking decidedly dazed. He didn't appear to be damaged, but—  
  
"Are you alright?" David panted, and Jake finally looked around.  
  
"Think I banged my head," he replied dumbly.  
  
David gave a breathless laugh, sinking against the side of the car, almost sliding straight to the ground. "Fucking hell, that's my life shortened by about five years."  
  
Jake didn't appear to hear. He looked between the front seats to the steering wheel, seemingly transfixed by it as he spoke. "I tried to start the car while you were gone, and it almost did, almost started. I must've left the handbrake off when I got in the back...I was trying to have a kip, didn't think anyone would come past at this time of night, and then something hit the car and I fell down here," he indicated distractedly to the footwell, "and by the time I pulled myself out and got between the front seats, the trees were..." he held his hand up in front of his face. "But the car braked. The car _braked_ and the car _spun_. Which is mad."  
  
To Jake's credit, he hadn't sounded confused at all throughout his explanation; he sounded amazed. "Think I banged my head," he repeated, then frowned slightly. "Hope I didn't dream all that. I'm not mad. I don't _think_ I'm mad. Do I sound mad?"  
  
Worries of madness – or at least, worries of giving the impression of madness – were rather familiar to David, and he smiled. Jenson got into the car, sliding closer to Jake and beckoning him to turn his head. The evidence of the suspected head-banging was plain to see in the form of a red graze high on his temple, flecked with blood.  
  
"When we get back to the hotel, we should probably get hold of one of the FIA doctors," Jenson murmured, hand at Jake's chin.  
  
Quirking an eyebrow at the gentle touch – not to mention Jake's small, wobbly smile in response – David wiped the rain from his face in the crook of his arm and pushed himself up, moving around to the back of the car. The crunch he had heard was the right rear corner striking a thick tree, the bumper and wheelarch not being quite the right shape but the tyre and wheel seemingly intact. His hand came to rest on the boot as he said a quiet apology.  
  
"It's superficial damage," he exhaled as he got into the driver's seat, finally out of the persistent rain.  
  
"Thanks," Jake smiled wryly, for some reason still being inspected by Jenson. David might have made a comment had it not been apparent that his war wound was looking swollen. The sound of an engine pulled David's eyes away, however; just in time to see the driver who crashed into their car descending the hill towards them.  
  
"You are okay?," The man called out as he pulled up in front of them, looking about as startled as Jake had earlier. Amid broken English, a great deal of explanatory gesturing and the exchange of insurance details, the rental company's breakdown vehicle was soon on its way to them thanks to a call from the man – Karl's – phone. Glancing over the man's car, David noted the broken headlight and sizeable dents in the bodywork, almost a mirror of the damage on their own car. His was still running, at least.  
  
When David got back into their car, Jake appeared to remember something and patted his pocket, looking around before ducking and reaching down into the footwell. When he sat up again, he held a phone aloft.  
  
Jenson stared at him. "That's your phone?"  
  
"Yeah, but the battery's gone," he replied, inspecting it for damage. "Completely forgot to put in on charge last night."  
  
David could only stare at him in utter incredulity, while Jenson mustered a groaned curse, much to Jake's bemusement.  
  
"Fuckin' hell."

 

_To be continued._


	3. Heatseeker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> _"I should clear a couple of things up," David began tentatively. "One thing, really. Quite a major thing."_

A long drive back to the hotel and a trip to an FIA doctor none too pleased to be woken at that hour, and David, Jenson and Jake were at long last back in the comfort of a hotel room.  
  
Despite being virtually dry by then, Jenson and David pulled a towel each from the bathroom and rubbed themselves down, while Jake sank down onto his bed and yawned cavernously, ice cubes wrapped in a hand towel and pressed to his bandaged temple. "It'd be nice if sitting about in a car for hours doing nothing didn't leave you feeling knackered."  
  
David leaned against the dresser across the room and flexed his arms, making a small noise of displeasure. It felt like he'd been doing an intensive gym session without warming up. The bones in his fingers ached as well. On the bright side, he didn't have another headache, he supposed.  
  
"You alright?" Jenson murmured, sidling up to him after taking a bottle of water from the minifridge.  
  
"Mm," David grunted in affirmation. "A bit sore. Suppose it's down to all the urgency, I've never had to react so suddenly before." He frowned a little, inspecting his hands. "Maybe it's psychosomatic. I mean, it's not as if I physically controlled anything, but it still feels kind of like—" He trailed off, aware of eyes on him. His gaze turned to Jake, who was watching the two of them and looking a touch bewildered. David let his hands drop to his sides and, after a moment of deliberation, moved towards Jake. "I should clear a couple of things up," he began tentatively. "One thing, really. Quite a major thing."  
  
His hands clasped together behind his back as if he was about to speak at some PR gig. Or in front of the class. In this case, the clichéd advice to imagine everyone naked was distracting in an unhelpful way. "That car. When it turned by itself and braked and, uh..." he made a vague gesture of a car turning, as if Jake was having trouble hearing. Then he sighed. There wasn't much point in dancing around the issue. "The car's not magic. I am."  
  
Jenson snorted a laugh and tried to catch and hide it in his bottle of water. Jake appeared to try to process and accept this information, the corners of his mouth turning down, head tilting to one side slightly. "Hmm," he said at first. Then, seriously, "Not like Alonso and his card tricks-type magic?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Bit more advanced than that?"  
  
David made a face. Making a party trick out of his ability felt a bit cheap to say the least, but for the purposes of easier understanding...  
  
 _"P-p-p-poker face, p-p-p-poker face..."_  
  
Jake flinched slightly and looked over his shoulder to see the clock radio on the bedside table had switched on. Swiftly his attention was pulled from the strains of Lady Gaga to the crowd noise and commentary of Bundesliga game highlights coming from the television. His eyebrows slowly climbed as the two devices began to change channels, one after the other in perfect rhythm, like a slowly ticking metronome. Jake's laptop also started up, the glow of the lit screen visible through the unzipped corner of his bag.  
  
The phone in his pocket began ringing, and as he pulled it free, the other active appliances fell silent. After briefly hesitating and looking around, Jake checked the display – it was lit up but blank, not even reading 'number withheld', just completely blank – and held the phone to his ear.  
  
 _"Hello Jake."_ Jake stared at David, whose voice he could hear. Who merely looked back at him, smiled and said nothing. _"I talk to technology. And you're definitely allowed to flirt with me. Just so you know."_  
  
Jake's eyes widened. David smiled a little more. _"Maybe you should try again, see how far it gets you."_  
  
Jake let out a short, sharp laugh, blush tainting his cheeks. He lowered the phone into his lap. "Mad," he offered. Then, quieter, "Amazing." He leaned forward earnestly. "How do you...I mean, you _actually_ have a superpower, a genuine actual superpower – you could legitimately wear a cape if you wanted. You'd still look silly, but you can say 'hey, I'm not dressing up, this is the real deal – I've got a superpower.'"  
  
David and Jenson exchanged an amused look as Jake helpfully painted the scenario for them. He tailed off a little at the end, however, fruitlessly pressing the power button on his phone to see if it would turn on again.  
  
"So you can make stuff...do stuff."  
  
David snorted. "Eloquently put. I can see why the BBC have you."  
  
"I _have_ hit my head."  
  
"Oh, did it knock all of the good words out?"  
  
"It could've been a lot worse."  
  
Jenson's words drew their eyes away from one another. He shrugged and gave a half-smile. "He might've saved your life tonight."  
  
"Right," Jake responded quietly. "Right," he said again, more concerned this time, the gravity of the crash and what could have been apparently hitting home. He looked back to David with a mix of surprise and gratitude. "You saved my life."  
  
"Well, I..." the words _I don't know about that_ formed in his head, shortly followed by _I could've done better_ , neither of which felt particularly appropriate to say at that moment. Instead he shrugged a little, smiling in a rueful way. "What else would I have done, eh?"  
  
Jake returned the smile – though his was more unsteady – and looked back down to the phone in his hand, running fingertips over the chunk of bandage taped to his head. "Is this gonna be one of those nights we never speak of again?"  
  
"Dunno about that," Jenson mused. "Maybe not as an anecdote at parties, or anything."  
  
Jake lay back, his chest sinking as he exhaled, almost like he was slowly deflating. With an affectionate smile in Jake's direction, David returned to Jenson's side, leaning against the dresser beside him. Jenson happily cosied up to him, draping an arm across his shoulders. After a period of settled, contented silence in which they both watched Jake seemingly doze off, David leaned a little closer to murmur in Jenson's ear.  
  
"You know those looks you mentioned? You do realise he's giving them to you too, don't you?"  
  
Jenson grinned broadly, not taking his eyes off the reclining man. "Yeah."  
  
"Bit of a double standard."  
  
"It wasn't really about the looks," Jenson admitted. "It was the trust. Wanted to see if you'd tell him about what you can do."  
  
David regarded Jenson, his face still turned away, smoothing a hand over his back. "Would you rather I hadn't told him?"  
  
Jenson took a deep breath, considering the question. "No," he eventually replied, gaze turning to David. "You still pretty much had to tell him, rather than doing it by choice. S'pose that makes me feel a bit better." He paused. "If you end up with any more powers, though, you tell me first."  
  
"As long as you don't pimp me out."  
  
"Depends what powers they are. Anything sexy and I'm not sharing."  
  
David laughed, nosing at Jenson's neck. "I've missed you this year."  
  
"Maybe you should come on Martin's gridwalks more often, eh?"  
  
Any further conversation was abandoned when David's mouth found its way to Jenson's. He pressed Jenson back against the dresser's edge, slipping his thigh between Jenson's legs and feeling the younger man's lips curve into a smile at the attention. When a hand pushed through David's hair and gripped, another hand unhurriedly beginning to unbutton his shirt, he didn't protest. In fact he was so absorbed in Jenson's touch, breaking the kiss to bestow attention on a bared throat, that he was slightly startled by the sound of his voice.  
  
"Like what you see?"  
  
David lifted his head to find an even more startled, red-faced Jake, propped up on his elbows and watching them from his position on the bed. As David leaned away from Jenson, noting the barely-concealed amusement on his face, he made the perfunctory gesture of tugging the now unbuttoned collar of his shirt together. Jake, meanwhile, once he'd snapped out of it, behaved as though he'd accidentally seen up a woman's skirt and been caught.  
  
"Sorry, uh, shouldn't have been, uh, sorry—"  
  
"You feeling a bit left out, Jakey?" Jenson interrupted rather gleefully. Jake's mouth moved in response but no sound emerged, his blush deepening. Jenson peeled away from the dresser and made his way to a daunted looking Jake, bounced onto the bedspace behind him. His gangly legs sliding either side of Jake's now upright body, Jenson began to massage his shoulders. Jake managed a sheepish smile, wincing a little at the vigorous attention.  
  
"Ow—! Is this punishment?"  
  
"Don't be a lightweight."  
  
The wincing lessened as Jenson eased up, his thumbs rubbing smoothly over Jake's shoulderblades. Jake even mumbled that it was actually quite nice as his head rocked forward. David eventually sauntered closer to the bed, leaning against the nearest wall and quirking a _well-don't-mind-me_ eyebrow in Jenson's direction. He hadn't bothered to do up his shirt. Jenson shot David what could only be described as a saucy look, then pointedly eyed the back of Jake's neck. Lifting his gaze back to David, he dipped his head and pressed a kiss to the exposed skin.  
  
Jake stilled but didn't pull away. Jenson dripped one, two more kisses; Jake murmured a vague, uncertain "um," and tilted his head slightly to the side, an instinctive rather than conscious motion. When Jenson kissed the offered skin, hands caressing the shoulders and arms instead of massaging, Jake's eyes flickered closed.  
  
David watched Jenson's steady, methodical progress with interest – the hand pushing through Jake's hair, the faintest licks between kisses, the fact that Jenson kept looking his way almost in challenge...Jake really was quite the blusher, wasn't he? Arousal and envy stirred within him at the sight. He watched the seemingly entranced Jake carefully.  
  
"Jake," David murmured.  
  
With Jenson's busy hands having moved to begin unbuttoning his shirt, Jake opened his eyes to stare at David, his gaze at once embarrassed, aroused, needful, his lips slightly parted...  
  
David pushed away from the wall, only catching a flash of that devilish grin from Jenson out of the corner of his eye as he knelt against the edge of the bed, the small space between Jake's legs, bending to meet those parted lips with his own. Jake eased back, pressing against Jenson, earnestly returning an increasingly hungry kiss; hands roamed, bodies shifted and reclined until Jake lay back on Jenson, David kneeling over the both of them. He eased Jake's legs apart with an insistent touch; the thigh tensed under David's hand, convulsive, reactive. David's hand descended to give Jake a cheeky grope only to find Jenson's hand already there, palming Jake's crotch and getting his hips lifting and breath hitching. Jenson, with his head bent, didn't appear to notice David's movement, seeming quite intent on leaving a lovebite at the highest possible point on the side of Jake's neck. Unperturbed, David merely cupped his hand over Jenson's, forcing a harder grope, their fingers meshing to maddeningly rub through fabric and zip. When Jake moaned into his mouth – and Jenson moaned in turn – he chuckled a little. When his other hand wandered, he felt Jenson's hips rocking shallowly up against Jake's body; Jenson laughed into Jake's skin when David gave the underside of his thigh a hard squeeze.  
  
It was only when David's hand moved to fumble at Jake's belt that the younger man broke the kiss.  
  
"W-wait, wait—" Jake gasped, gripping David's shoulder urgently. David's hands stilled and he lifted his head to focus, surprised, on the man beneath him. Jake blinked a few times and made some uncertain sounds before gathering himself enough to form words.  
  
"I...I-I appreciate the attention, guys," Jake panted, appearing unwilling to relinquish his grip on either of the other men, dazedly flexing his fingers in shirt fabric and against sinewy muscle. He rocked his head to the side, resting it against Jenson's, his cheeks flushed. "But could we maybe do this when I'm not mildly concussed?"  
  
The worry smoothed out of David's face and Jenson snorted a laugh, running a hand through Jake's hair. "That's probably a good idea," David admitted. Rather awkwardly he pushed himself up, hands lingering on Jake's prone body, and clambered to his feet to allow those beneath him to sit up amidst quietly bumbling excuse mes and apologies like they'd suddenly been dropped into a Hugh Grant film.  
  
"We should probably get off...so to speak." David chose to draw attention to the innuendo in his statement rather than his second use of the word 'probably' in as many sentences; a wiser listener could draw the conclusion that, while it might have been wise to put a pin in this and leave Jake to his sore head, it wasn't what David would have preferred. The fact that he kept allowing his eyes to coast over Jake's unkempt clothes and the contours of the body beneath them only supported that conclusion.  
  
"Long day," Jake mumbled, running a hand over his face, wincing slightly when it passed across his bandage and lingering a little when it passed across his lips. "Long, weird day." He stood up, tugging his half-unbuttoned shirt into a more respectable position, and followed them towards the door. "Sorry. Think I made it weirder. Think I'm still making it weirder by apologising, but—"  
  
"Oh, hang on, forgot something," Jenson interrupted. The words _but you didn't bring anything in with you_ never emerged from David's throat as he turned to see Jenson move close to a nonplussed Jake, taking his mouth in a firm kiss until Jake yielded, the tension outlining his body disappearing as Jenson cupped the back of his head.  
  
That irrepressible grin broke anew on Jenson's face when he pulled away. "Your cheeks are really warm."  
  
"Yeah, well..." Jake mumbled bashfully, pressing the heels of his hands to his once again reddened face. "Thanks."  
  
David shook his head a little and reached for the doorhandle. Once he'd advised Jake to charge his bloody phone and they'd said their goodbyes, he and Jenson began to make their way down the corridor. David slowed to a stop almost immediately, however, thinking.  
  
"Jense," he called softly, aware of the time, making Jenson turn. He leaned against the wall with Jake's room on the other side and nodded his head towards it. Jenson approached the wall and pressed his ear against it, looking at David curiously. "Keep listening," was all David said as he began to concentrate.  
  
It took a minute or two, but eventually the sound of the radio began to filter through.  
  
 _"Get outta my dreams, get into my car…Get outta my dreams, get in the back seat baby..."_  
  
  
  
End.


	4. Deleted Scenes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Here are a couple of scenes from AC/DC that didn't end up in the final piece.

~~~ _What Jake was up to in the car whilst David and Jenson were off canoodling in the woods._  
  
  
Jake watched him disappear and returned his gaze to the fore. Moonlight blocked once again by cloud, the yawning blackness and spots of rain appearing on the windscreen were all that greeted his eyes. After a while, he pushed himself up from his slumped position, grasping the key again and turned it, jiggling back and forth in his seat as though it might help and willing the car to respond. Perhaps the jiggling had helped after all, because the engine laboriously and slowly began to turn over.  
  
Jake's eyebrows shot up at the painful noise. Rather optimistically, he released the handbrake, murmuring words of encouragement. "Come on, you beauty, you can do it..."  
  
It came to naught, however; the engine noise slowed then stopped, and when Jake turned the key again the engine offered a solitary chug, then nothing. His heart sank a little as no number of key turns brought sounds of life to the car again. He smoothed his hands over the steering wheel and sighed, that small sliver of hope evaporating as quickly as it had appeared.  
  
Not knowing how long David and Jenson would be out in the woods – and giving the briefest of envious thoughts to how they might make up whilst away from view – Jake got out of the car and got into the back, making himself as comfortable as a man with a six foot four inch frame could whilst reclining on the back seat of a rented car. He listened to the rain spattering against the windows, tried not to think about his empty hotel bed, and began to doze.  
  
  
\-----------  
  
  
~~~ _There was going to be a side-plot going into a different reason why David was so angsty about his superpowers - the crash Jenson had at Monaco in 2003. It was making the fic too long-winded so it got dropped._  
  
  
Being aware of his ability for nine years didn't mean that David had mastered it; the fact that he could still totally lose control was a testament to that fact. It had only been eight months since losing control to such a degree that he caused every computer server and television station within a five mile radius of him to go down for ten minutes. The resulting migraine had been so intense that he was physically sick, stricken with vertigo and drenched in a cold sweat. He spent the entire night sat on his bathroom floor, curled up against the toilet and trying so hard to stop shivering that his muscles were cramping up. By 3am David's head had felt like it was in tatters.  
  
Jenson had been there with him and seen it all.  
  
Jenson had sat there in the bathroom with him, rubbing his back if he threw up, wiping the sweat away with a towel, repeatedly offering to take him to the hospital and every time being assured with a mutter that it would pass; Lord knows what sort of shitstorm would come down from the press if he was hospitalized in this condition.  
  
But there had been a few moments of lucidity as morning light began to warm his apartment, moments when he was being all introspective and unbearable, and he remembered with crystal clarity what he had said.  
  
"I can say 'it is what it is' and outwardly accept it, but it is fucking agony knowing that I at least had the potential inside me to do something to stop that crash, or lessen the impact or _something_ , but for whatever reason...it didn't work. Fucking agony."


End file.
